


Marshmallow Center

by haikuhamster



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Derek is a Softie, Dog Derek Hale, Fluff, Gen, M/M, Protective Derek, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, Witch Curses, Wolf Derek, no peanut butter was harmed in the making of this fic, or something to that effect, this is the most wholesome thing i have ever created, vague whatsawhosits
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-29
Updated: 2018-08-29
Packaged: 2019-07-04 02:43:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,880
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15832119
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/haikuhamster/pseuds/haikuhamster
Summary: Derek, for some inexplicable reason, had become a dog. A soft, fluffy, adorable dog. One that loved Stiles, and was destermined to show it in every dog-specific way possible.Unfortunately, Stiles kinda loves him too.





	Marshmallow Center

**Author's Note:**

> This fic is for the lovely Kisha, who I’ve never spoken to. According to my sources, she’s an astounding person who deserves the world. My sources are very reliable and I trust them wholeheartedly. They also informed me that she enjoys fluff, and speculated she might like some sweet soft puppy Derek. It’s my duty to give her the precious fluffy Sterek fic she deserves.
> 
> Congratulations on graduating, Kisha! It’s a big achievement and often takes a ton of dedication. I’m proud of you for that, and I’m honored to be part of this little celebration. I hope you enjoy this.

Derek laid on the couch, sleeping soundly with an adorable little snore. Stiles couldn’t help but love the sound still; it was like nothing had changed. Unfortunately, something had definitely changed. Derek, for instance, was now a dog. That was new.

Stiles did some expert Googling and placed Derek’s breed- and wasn’t that a weird phrase- as probably being a Tamaskan. He was dark black all around, save for a little patch of white on his chest. His fur was fluffy and soft looking, and Stiles had to hold himself back from burying his face in it and revelling in the wholesome dog warmth Derek was probably radiating right now.

“He’s gonna be pissed,” Scott whispered sharply. “He’s gonna kill us, Stiles.”

“Scott, I love you, but I will sock you in the face here and now,” Stiles snapped. “You don’t get to say those things anymore. He’s gone through hell and back to get to a place where he’s opened up and started being comfortable with himself, and so help me god, if you set him back…”

“Sorry,” Scott muttered, thoroughly admonished. Stiles felt a pang of guilt, but he was in the right. Derek had been making a legitimate effort to be a strong Alpha not just as a wolf, but as a person as well. He wanted to be someone the pack could confide in and trust for more than just wolfy things. They didn’t know, but Derek even been seeing Deaton as a therapist for the last couple months. All on his own, he’d come to the understanding that he couldn’t be supportive for them if he couldn’t even support himself.

Stiles had sorta taken it upon himself to be a rock for Derek, too. He’d gone through therapy too, years of it, even before his mom died. So they’d talk sometimes, after pack nights had ended, when Stiles didn’t want to go home to an empty house. He’d stay with Derek and run his mouth until the man chimed in too, and gave some little piece of himself to Stiles for a moment.

Derek slowly opened up to him, and Stiles quickly had a harder time convincing himself he wasn’t disgustingly in love with Derek. 

A low growl called both Stiles and Scott to attention, and both of their heads turned to where Derek was staring down at his own body, lip curled up in a snarl.

“Are you… growling at yourself?” Stiles blurted, and Derek’s ears perked up when they made eye contact. Almost on command, 80 pounds of excited dog ran over and jumped on him. “Jesus, warn a guy!” he scolded, but the effect was lost. He was a sucker, and there was no hesitation before he was kneeling down and rubbing both hands along Derek’s fluffy neck.

“Dude, you’re petting him,” Scott said, clearly losing his shit. He kneeled down too, and reached a hand out to pet Derek too. He got one touch in before he was growled at, and he and Stiles both jerked back on instinct.

Derek glared at Scott, still rumbling a little. “Okay, so maybe he doesn’t like pets,” Stiles concluded. “That’s understandable. We can resist.” Scott nodded in agreement, still a little shell-shocked.

Both boys watched as Derek walked right back over to Stiles and sat down, then nudged his snout against the palm of Stiles’ hand. “Oh, guess not,” Stiles said. He moved his hand again, dragging it down Derek’s body from his head to his rump. He kept up the gentle strokes, watching his own hand like it was magic. Because, god, it might as well be. His hand on Derek Hale, petting him. As a dog. This whole situation was insane.

“He doesn’t like me,” Scott lamented. Stiles looked up at him and shrugged with a wince. “How come you get to pet him and I don’t? You’re not even a part of his pack, I am!” Derek snarled in response, standing up into an aggressive position and placing himself between Scott and Stiles. “Whoa, okay. Sorry. I didn’t mean to offend you.”

Stiles leaned forward and pet Derek again, trying to calm him down. Sure enough, the dog- man?- wagged his tail ever so slightly, and his growl tapered off. “I don’t need to be a wolf to be part of the pack, is that right?” Stiles asked. Derek turned to him and lolled his tongue out like he was smiling, and Stiles returned it with a grin. “I like this version of Derek. Human Derek would just roll his eyes, maybe point out some random good deed I did. This guy’s got chivalry in his bones.”

“I don’t like him,” Scott grumbled. “He won’t even let me pet him.”

__________

Light fell in small pools through the foliage above him, warming him just enough to be comfortable. The air was clean and smelled of grass, and a small breeze carried the sound of a nearby stream babbling and bluebirds calling to one another. To his left lay the book he gave up on reading an hour ago, and to his right lay Derek, curled in a little ball next to him.

As a human, Derek had been reticent and gruff. As a wolf he was more like a puppy than anything, playful and curious. Cora said it was like he was a little kid again, carefree. His actions were based on instinct alone rather than careful planning. He spent a majority of his time running through the preserve, and the rest of it by Stiles’ side. He was far more protective of the pack, especially one certain human member.

Stiles’ fingers curled mindlessly into Derek’s scruff, scratching him to the beat of his own breaths. His fingers stuttered at the same time Derek let out a little huff. “No threatening them this time,” Stiles whispered. “Be a good Alpha and make your pack feel loved.” Derek huffed again, and Stiles smiled.

“We figured out how to get him back,” Cora said by way of greeting. “Well, Erica did. She read some lore thing about werewolves a while ago that mentioned a spell for wolves that need to change but don’t want to or can’t do it themselves.” Derek’s head poked up, and Cora continued. “We’ve got everything already so Deaton’s gonna come by whenever he finishes doing… whatever he does when we’re not around.”

Stiles felt Derek’s tail wag wildly against his leg, and he smiled up at her. “Sounds like a plan,” he agreed. “Do you want us to come in?”

She looked at Derek for a moment in that calculating Hale way, then nodded. She walked away without another word, simply knowing she’d be followed. Derek, though, only got up when Stiles did. He followed right next to him as they walked, ears perked up and ready to hear any threats.

They made the five minute stroll with no incidents, unsurprisingly to Stiles’ human brain. Derek, on the other hand, was doing some proud dog routine because he considered it to be because of him that they weren’t viscously attacked. Stiles would have to talk to human Derek about that. 

God, Derek was gonna be human again. It’d only been a week, but that was seven days of having a fluffy ball of snuggles and warmth glued to his side. He would kinda miss it, this feeling. Like he was someone’s favorite thing, and nothing in the whole world could ever make the person as happy as he could. Human Derek didn’t feel like that with him, but dog Derek did.

Unfortunately, Derek being a dog had not done away with his crush, but made it worse. The sexual thoughts had been very much nonexistent this week, but the fluffy romantic shit was on overdrive. The dog was an open book, all of the little kid parts that Derek hid away after his loss. Stiles wanted those.

Stiles wanted Derek to be by his side, to ask for love when he wanted it. He wanted Derek to drag him places not because it was a hunt, but an adventure. He wanted Derek to _choose_ him, not just be stuck with him. He wanted Derek to let Stiles become important, to trust Stiles not to tear him apart the way others have. But Derek wouldn’t do those things.

Derek didn’t love him.

That was the worst part, too. Because while Stiles’ heart soared every time the dog did something cute or sweet, it was soon replaced by the agony that comes with knowing he’d never have that after they got Derek back to normal. Hell, Derek would probably hate him after this. Stiles was taking advantage of him, using this innocent dog version of him to make himself feel special.

Derek whined at his side, apparently able to smell the upset coming from Stiles. He pushed his nose into Stiles’ hand, insisting that Stiles pet him and take comfort from him. He wanted Derek to do that too, to grab his hand and hold it close to make Stiles feel okay.

It did help, though, the soft fur running between his fingers. His pale skin contrasted the jet black really nicely; it always looked so aesthetically pleasing. And the feeling obviously grounded him, something real that he could hold himself down with.

Derek buried his head into Stiles’ hip and huffed out a tiny sound. Stiles didn’t know what it meant, but it sounded like an apology. 

__________

“He’s back,” Lydia said, once she walked back into the main room with Deaton in tow. She turned a little smirk on Stiles. “He wants to see you before anyone else though, surprise surprise.”

Oh god. This was where Stiles would lose Derek. He couldn’t steel himself at all. He opened the door slowly, letting himself in. His eyes were on the floor, but he lifted them once he’d shut the door behind himself.

Derek was sitting in a chair, naked with a towel over his junk. Great. Stiles was going to have a miserable conversation while hopelessly aroused. Though, the man had a little smile on his face. “Stiles,” he greeted.

“That’s me,” he squeaked. God, he sounded stupid. He cleared his throat and tried again. “That’s me.”

“I want to apologize for the way my wolf behaved,” Derek said. “I know you didn’t ask for it or want all the attention, but you handled it well even when I was annoying.”

Stiles looked at him weird. Derek? Annoying? Hell no. “I had a lot of fun, actually,” he insisted. “It was awesome. I would do it again, like, a million times.”

Derek’s smile grew. “I hoped you did, but I didn’t assume anything,” he said. “You even acted like you wanted to be my mate too, which made the wolf happy. Happier than I’ve been in… too long.”

“Your mate?” Stiles asked. He had tunnel vision, clearly.

“That’s what Deaton says the wolf wanted. A mate.” Derek was to the point as always.

“Oh,” he stumbled. After a moment he asked, “Why me?”

“Because you’re you,” Derek said. “And I like you.”

Stiles looked up at him in awe. “Really?”

“Really,” Derek smiled.

Stiles broke out into giddy laughter. This whole dog thing had apparently been fuckin’ awesome. Figures.

**Author's Note:**

> That ending was rather abrupt, huh? I will most likely fix that later but shhh we’ll pretend it’s completely perfect.
> 
> Go show Kisha some love and give her congratulations on graduating over on [Tumblr](http://hushlittlefandoms.tumblr.com/) and [Twitter](https://twitter.com/ms_sourwolf/)!


End file.
